New TV package will result in more cap dollars in 2015

Posted by Mike Florio on February 5, 2014, 2:05 PM EDT

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For years, we’ve been saying that the NFLPA should be insisting on the sale of the Thursday Night Football package to the highest bidder. After years of hoarding the games in the hopes of propping up an in-house network that never has performed at the level the NFL hoped, the league finally has decided to export a chunk of the previously exclusive games.

The good news for the players and the teams is that, by moving eight of the games to CBS, a lot more money will flow through the cash register.

The initial bids reportedly fell in the high $200 million range. If CBS ultimately paid $300 million for the package, that money will dump directly into the bucket from which the salary cap is calculated.

Offsetting that amount will be the lost advertising revenue for NFL Network, given that the games will be shown both on NFLN and CBS. Few companies will spend as much to roll commercials during breaks of games that no longer are exclusive to the league-owned broadcast operation.

Still, even if the net gain is a mere $250 million — and assuming half of the money goes to the players — that’s nearly $4 million per team in extra 2015 cap space.

That bump won’t happen in 2014. Each year’s cap comes from the prior year’s revenue. So the found money coming from the new CBS deal will find its way into the spending budget for all teams comes 2015.

‘After years of hoarding the games in the hopes of propping up an in-house network that never has performed at the level the NFL hoped, the league finally has decided to export a chunk of the previously exclusive games.’

The sad truth is that NFL Network has some very questionable people working their plus the shows just repeat the same watered down information. And all those meaningless lists after lists….The NFL Network could have been great if they did it right.

I can’t imagine how anyone on the planet would want to listen to Lindsey Rhodes’ voice or Heath Evans’ opinions on anything.

Wait, isn’t revenue split evenly between the owners and players? Only half of the new TV money will end up in the salary cap. So the impact on the cap will be around $4 million per team, not almost $8 million.

As a fan of the irrelevant Dallas Cowboys, who will need all the cap space they can get to sign worthy, talented, and smart players, I approve….oh wait. My GM sucks. I approve bc Skeletor is in a big enough bind as it is. STOP RUINING THIS FRANCHISE Jerry! You hear me??!!

The Colts, Seahawks, Panthers, 49ers and Redskins fans are surely rejoicing. With the money they are going to have to fork out to their young QBs they will need every extra dollar in cap space. Heck, if Foles and Tannehill maintain their play, throw the Eagles and Dolphins in too.

But let’s all be honest, Ozzie had to have a hand in this. Have to find a way to make Flacco’s contract a little less of a mistake.